Peninsula area cautious as Hurricane Sandy churns north

Up to five inches of rain expected beginning late Saturday night

A storm is coming. Some call it Sandy. Others call it the 'Frankenstorm.' Nobody knows exactly how bad it will be, but across the region Thursday the consensus was to prepare for the worst.

As Category 2 Hurricane Sandy creeps up the East Coast, forecasters for the National Weather Service were closely watching its track. As of Thursday, Hampton Roads stood in the cone of possibility for a hit. Forecasters say landfall is more likely in the Northeast, and there is still a chance the storm will blow off even farther to the east into the Atlantic.

Matt Scalora, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said Thursday the forecast calls for Hampton Roads to get between 2 and 5 inches of rain, with the first precipitation moving into the region late Saturday night.

Local governments said they were monitoring the situation and doing preliminary work in case the storm hits. All eyes will be on a state conference call with the Virginia Department of Emergency Management to be held Friday afternoon before localities enact their most detailed plans.

"Our stormwater and drainage team has been out checking known hot spots throughout the city as a preventive measure," said Robin McCormick, a spokeswoman for the city of Hampton. "If we get the effects from Sandy it will be more along the effects of tidal flooding. We're looking into low-lying areas like Fox Hill, Grandview and Buckroe."

Kim Lee, a spokeswoman for the city of Newport News, said the city was also working to clear storm drains. She said the city would evaluate the situation after more forecasts are made on Friday. She said the city has made contact with flood-prone City Line apartments, where Lee said first floor residents have still not moved back in after flooding in August.

Poquoson City Manager Randy Wheeler said the city began having daily department head meetings to discuss storm preparation on Wednesday.

"We're planning just like it's coming right at us," Wheeler said. "We're clearing the streets of debris. We're making sure our conveyance channels for stormwater are clean."

Wheeler said if it appears the storm is advancing toward the region the city will make community-wide phone calls alerting residents of emergency plans.

"We'll do it if we think (the storm) will be anything more than a near nuisance," Wheeler said.

York County spokeswoman Gail Whitaker said they county would also wait until after the state conference call to determine what emergency precautions to take. "We'll begin interoffice briefings afterward," she said.

Dominion Virginia Power said staffers have been put on standby throughout the weekend to respond to affected areas if necessary.

"Our crews are stocking up their trucks with supplies and they're on stand-by to respond to possible hurricane-force wind gusts and heavy rain," said Bonita Harris, a spokeswoman for the company.

"We are communicating with state and local emergency managers," Harris said. "Our Customer Care Center is also prepared to adjust staffing for anticipated call volume."

Harris said customers should stock up with the traditional storm preparation items, including batteries, non-perishable food, bottled water and should fill their gas tanks. She also encouraged them to save Dominion's information line (1-866-366-4357) on their cell phones.

'Frankenstorm'

As Sandy slowly churns north, all the spare parts appear to be coming together to create what forecasters are calling "Frankenstorm," a monster combination of high wind, heavy rain, extreme tides and maybe snow that could cause havoc along the East Coast just before Halloween next week.

The hurricane blew through Haiti and Cuba on Thursday. A wintry storm is chugging across from the West. And frigid air is streaming south from Canada. If they meet Tuesday morning around New York or New Jersey, as forecasters predict, they could create a big wet mess that settles over the nation's most heavily populated corridor and reaches as far inland as Ohio.

With experts expecting at least $1 billion in damage, the people who will have to clean it up aren't waiting.

Utilities are lining up out-of-state work crews and canceling employees' days off to deal with the power outages. From county disaster chiefs to the federal government, emergency officials are warning the public to be prepared. And President Barack Obama was briefed aboard Air Force One.

"It's looking like a very serious storm that could be historic," said Jeff Masters, meteorology director of the forecasting service Weather Underground. "Mother Nature is not saying `trick-or-treat.' It's just going to give tricks."

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecaster Jim Cisco, who coined the nickname Frankenstorm, said: "We don't have many modern precedents for what the models are suggesting."